The Day After
by Emmy Kay
Summary: A picnic where something is learned. Sequel to "On the Road of Life." Kakashi/Iruka.  Warning for some swearing and snogging.


Title: The Day After

Claimer/Author: This story is written by and belongs to Emmy Kay.

Pairing: Iruka, Kakashi

Summary: Romance/Humor. A picnic where something is learned. Sequel to "On the Road of Life." Kakashi/Iruka.

Warnings for language, some snogging.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all affiliated characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission and for personal/fan/nonprofit entertainment purposes only.

Note: While this is a sequel, and might be rightfully placed as the third chapter of "On the Road of Life," the tone and time is different enough that I thought it worked better separated out.

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><p>"What did you think of your birthday?" Iruka asked Kakashi, as they sat on the sun-warmed grass of a meadow above Konoha, looking down at the village.<p>

They had come this arrangement years ago, following a disastrous surprise birthday party. While ninjas love parties, no ninja really likes surprises, and no ninja worth their salt would go anywhere without multiple weapons, even to a party where there was promised cake, punch, and a guy twisting balloons into amusing shapes for adults. (Iruka honestly thought Kakashi would find that funny. Kakashi did not. It was the random, uncontrolled popping that did it.) There were no deaths, fortunately. But it was so awful, nobody spoke of it ever again. And the balloon guy immediately moved to a civilian village.

Trying to make Iruka feel better, Kakashi declared that he never cared about birthdays anyway. After one was an adult, birthdays were only for other people to make an unnecessary fuss. Iruka protested. He liked the fuss and insisted on some sort of recognition of the day. So they compromised. Their day would be the first day after Kakashi's birthday that their busy schedules would allow them to convene. They would meet (just the two of them) with some food and a bottle of plum wine. They would talk, laugh, eat and drink, knowing few people would interrupt them.

The day after his birthday, Kakashi claimed, was his favorite.

"It was a good one." Kakashi turned to look at Iruka, who nodded. Another birthday reached, regardless of what age one turned or how the previous year had turned out, was always a good one in their line of work.

"What was your favorite gift?"

"Maa," and the leer was evident in Kakashi's voice, and on his unmasked face. "It was early yesterday morning...I woke up to something wonderful." The way the words rolled over Kakashi's tongue made Iruka flush. "Someone wonderful was doing something _amazing_ –"

Iruka nudged Kakashi with a shoulder, his lips turning upwards in a little curve that wasn't quite a smile, but it wasn't exactly not a smile. "Hush."

Kakashi loved seeing Iruka this way, pinkening with more than just plum wine and embarrassment. This particular game would never get old. He pushed it, grinning. "-with his mouth." Kakashi paused, savoring the memory. "Gods, his mouth."

"Shhht!" Iruka shoved, the pink heightening to a hectic red, the little curve to his lips replaced with the beginnings of a frown.

Kakashi felt his partner's shift from easy acceptance of teasing to the resistance of encroaching shame. "And then," Iruka's hand hovered, ready to deliver a blow, "Naruto came in."

Iruka exhaled, visibly relaxing. "Well, Naruto was really excited to give you his present."

"I was really excited to finish receiving my other present," grumped Kakashi. "That kid – he's got to have some kind of Interruptus Jutsu. He's always coming in at the worst times." Kakashi gestured into the air, balefully. "Just you wait, Naruto Uzumaki – you'll get yours someday. Kids will interrupt you in your most private moments and you will be sorry. May it be threefold. No. Four-fold. Hell, make it six-fold."

"He's just a 12-year-old kid," Iruka laughed. "He doesn't know."

"All the times he's messed with my mojo – it's like he's got fucking radar or something," muttered Kakashi.

"Fucking radar - " Iruka nearly split apart, laughing. He rolled off to one side, clutching his sides. He came up on one elbow, eyebrow raised in a question. "Fuckdar?" he posited. Then he spasmed with laughter again, falling backward onto the ground.

Kakashi reluctantly grinned. He looked down at Iruka, twitching and crushing the grass that lay underneath him. Iruka's ponytail was askew, he was kicking one leg out in convulsive amusement, there were tears of laughter in the corners of his eyes, grass stains on his knees, and wine stains on his lips. Gods, he was so beautiful, surrounded by the green of the grass and the tiny white flowers of late summer. Kakashi's heart, battered and blackened as it was, hurt for a moment, it was so full. He didn't know what he had done to deserve this moment, this man, but he sure as hell was going to enjoy it.

When he finally wiped the moisture from his eyes, Iruka noted, dark eyes merry, "You don't seem to be worried about_ my_ mojo."

"Oh, but I do, sensei. I do. You have no idea." Quicker than Iruka's eyes could follow, Kakashi had drawn up next to him, one hand interlaced with one of Iruka's, one leg thrown over Iruka's body, mismatched eyes lazily intent. He lowered his head toward Iruka's ear. "You know what my favorite gift ever was?"

"What?" Iruka smiled, hand up to shade his eyes, already warmer than the sun shining down on them.

"When you first came to find me, in the hospital gardens. And you whispered in my ear, like this –" and Kakashi gently breathed heated air into Iruka's ear, lips so close Iruka could almost-but-not-quite feel them brush his skin, tantalizing, "and you said, 'Thank you –"

"Kakashi-baka-ero-sensei!" screamed Naruto, bounding toward them. "Get off Iruka-sensei! You pervert!"

Iruka burst into laughter at Kakashi's incredulous expression, just before Kakashi flung himself off to the side, groaning, yanking up his mask over his face.

"Good afternoon, Naruto," Iruka said, still laughing as he sat up.

"Hey, you guys got anything to eat?"

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><p>At least Naruto did help them pack up after inhaling all their leftovers. Kakashi had found, irritated, that while Iruka seemed to enjoy Naruto's company, he had his plans dashed and, dang it, the wine bottle was empty. Then the orange bundle of energy took off, from what Kakashi could tell, to bug someone else into filling the bottomless hole that Iruka called a growing boy's stomach.<p>

Kakashi would have been willing to continue where they had left off, but Iruka had felt the mood was gone and wanted to return home. On the way back down to the village, Iruka seemed thoughtful.

"You okay?" asked Kakashi.

"Hn."

"What is it?"

"You remembered what I said to you in the hospital gardens that time. All those years ago."

"Yeah, so?"

"You mean, you were only pretending to be asleep?"

"Uh, yeah – " Kakashi could feel the trouble just waiting behind the question.

"That whole time?"

"I knew somebody was coming, I didn't want to talk to another doctor or nurse – " Kakashi tried to explain, but was helpless in the way of stopping the unstoppable force that was Iruka Umino's temper.

"You waited while I admired you, thinking about how beautiful and symbolic the cherry blossoms were, you waited while I was contemplating life and death and beauty, and you waited while I thanked you –"

"Uh, yeah?"

WHACK! Iruka punched Kakashi's shoulder with an angry fist. "I can't believe you," he hissed. "Faking sleeping. The whole time. Damn it. Ruined one of my favorite memories. Jackass."

"Aw, c'mon, Iruka. Don't I get a day-after-birthday pass?"

Iruka thought for a moment, his lips twisted to one side. Then he nodded. "Okay. Fine. This once. But no day-after-birthday _special gift_."

The emphasis made Kakashi wince.

Iruka continued walking and muttering. "Faking sleeping, who _does_ that?"

"Awwww...c'mon! My mojo, Iruka! Aren't you worried about my mojo?"

"Oh, I do, sensei. I do. You have no idea," Iruka purred.

Kakashi waited eagerly for Iruka's next words.

"But not today."

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><p>This one is just to finish up my fanart inspired trilogy. Inspired by isamunee tumblr, August 19, 2011.<p> 


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